An essential factor in the deployment of a new communication system is demonstrating the reliability of the system prior to committed adoption. A bootstrapping problem exists, however, in that true reliability can only be demonstrated through the continued use of the communication system. Especially for communication systems that are used by large organizations or entire societies, a “you first” mentality may prevail when deciding if and when to adopt the new communication system. Thus, potential adopters sensibly follow a “wait and see” approach through which they can assess the reliability of the new system by observing the experiences of others.
Numerous error detection and correction techniques exist for determining the fidelity with which particular data frames, data packets, or files have been transmitted through a communication system at particular moments in time. For example, parity bits and checksums can be used in the data link and transport layers of the open systems interconnection model (OSI Model), which is a conceptual model that characterizes and standardizes the internal functions of a communication system by partitioning it into abstraction layers, to ensure that individual packets and data frames of information are accurately relayed from a sender to a receiver. Similarly, cryptographic hash functions, e.g. the MD5 function, are routinely used at the application layer to verify the successful transmission, e.g. the download, of larger data units, e.g. compressed archives or software packages.
Verifying the continuity of this fidelity, however, inherently requires more time. Potential adopters may wish to observe the reliability of the proposed communication system over a substantial period of time in real-world applications and under real-world conditions, i.e. environments that are not easily replicated during experimental testing. For example, a potential adopter may wish to verify the availability, i.e. the proportion of time a system is in a functioning condition, of the system under varying environmental stresses, such as operating temperatures, weather conditions; or the resistance of the system to continued and evolving attacks by adverse parties.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide potential adopters with a method of adoption that nurtures a high degree of confidence in the reliability of the communication system prior to committed adoption.